Conventional nonsense

The best thing about the Republican and Democratic conventions is that we won’t see them again for four years. The bad thing is that they were held in the first place.

There was a time when the conventions served a purpose: Select the party’s choice for president. It often took lengthy horse-trading and several ballots to reach a decision. But the delegates had a role to play beyond wearing silly hats, waving signs and cheering on cue. The process was gaudy, but at least it was functional.

Now the whole affair is a foregone conclusion. The candidates are anointed through a seemingly endless series of primary contests long before the conventions get started. With nothing better to do, participants listen to party dignitaries preaching to the chorus, congratulating themselves and each other. There’s something called the “platform,” a shaky contraption that everybody ignores as soon as it is adopted.

The media that hyped the primaries ad nauseam descend on the conventions in full force, claiming to serve the “public’s right to know.” Truth be told, jaded and bored by the endless election season, most people don’t bother to follow these costly extravaganzas. Taxpayer contribution is $136 million in federal funds, in addition to tens of millions of dollars the parties fork over. It’s the most expensive coronation anywhere.

For sheer entertainment, as well as for a modicum of substance, the GOP show in Tampa had the edge, if for no other reason, because it was shortened by a threat from a tropical storm. There were similarities between the two events, beyond the orgy of self-aggrandizement and mudslinging. Both candidates enlisted their wives to tell us their spouses were wonderful husbands, terrific fathers, and all-around ordinary guys who don’t mind taking out the trash when they’re not too busy saving the world. As expected, both camps indulged in bending the truth.

While the rhetoric was bombastic, the Democrats, by and large, managed to out-shout their counterparts. The best speech of both conventions was delivered by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. The candidates did OK, but it’s unlikely that their performances changed many minds.

I found the soap-box harangue by Gov. Deval Patrick, badmouthing his predecessor, Mitt Romney, especially irritating because I had watched the Romney administration in action and am familiar with its contributions. Rather than losing jobs, as Mr. Patrick asserted, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mr. Romney actually increased the number of jobs in the midst of the worst jobs recession in Massachusetts history. He also wiped out a $2 billion deficit, and left the state with a $2.2 billion rainy-day fund, which the current administration managed to deplete. Moreover, if Mr. Patrick intends to spend most of his time campaigning for his friend, Barack Obama, as he has been doing, he should resign his day job.

Politics make strange bedfellows and produce short memories. Bill Clinton, who had a strained relationship with Barack Obama after Mr. Obama deprived Hillary Clinton of the presidential nomination in 2008, delivered the keynote address in Charlotte, praising President Obama as the country’s savior. Even the Republicans, who impeached Mr. Clinton in 1998 for lying during a White House sex scandal, had nice things to say about him in comparison with Mr. Obama.

The “war on poverty” — once the focus of Democratic Party priorities — was replaced by kissing up to the “middle class.” Avoiding the dreaded “t word” (taxes), Democrats advocated “investing in the future.” Republicans weren’t shy pointing out that the nation now borrows 40 cents for every dollar it spends, and the debt level hit $16 trillion. The Democrats portrayed the killing of Osama bin Laden — a helpless and isolated old man guarded only by his wives in a country allied with the USA — as a major foreign policy accomplishment. (Gloated Sen. John Kerry: “Ask Osama bin Laden if he’s better off than four years ago.”) The Republicans talked about America’s declining prestige around the world.

Elizabeth Warren was given a prominent place in the lineup of speakers, underscoring the national importance the Democrats attach to her Senate race in Massachusetts. It was sad to watch as top Democrats — from Mr. Patrick to Mr. Kerry, leaders with whom independent-minded Scott Brown tried to maintain a fruitful relationship — lined up to throw him under the bus. It goes to show that for liberals, “bipartisanship” is a one-way street. Ms. Warren also received some unwelcome attention at the convention when Native American delegates expressed dismay over her lies about her Cherokee heritage.

The overall picture emerging from Tampa and Charlotte was less than encouraging. While it is evident that the year-round campaign season, with its numerous primaries and endless opinion poll frenzy, should be cut back drastically, that is unlikely to happen. Nor will the conventions be scrapped, even though they should be.

For now, the Americans will have to make a decision. Barack Obama became president based on hope and promise of change for the better. By most accounts, he has failed to deliver, and the country is not better off today than it was four years ago. So should he be given another four years to try, or should we opt for a change again? Common sense dictates that the second option is warranted.